Colliding Worlds
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Neal Caffrey's worlds collide when his past finally catches up to him.


**I don't own White Collar and Chuck nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

Neal blinked and paled the second he laid eyes on Chuck and Sarah for the first time in years. He hadn't expected to see them again - it's why he had faked his death, after all - and now here they were in the same city after all this time. Chuck gaped at his supposedly dead best friend. "Bryce?" he finally asked.

Neal laughed nervously. "You must have me mistaken for someone else, sir. My name is Neal Caffrey. Maybe you've heard of me?" he tried, praying they'd fall for it.

No such luck, which didn't surprise him. "Bryce, talk to us," Sarah pleaded, tears in her eyes.

He wouldn't be proud of it later (wasn't proud of it now, either) but Bryce rocked back on his heels, turned, and then fled in the other direction.

Still reeling from the fact that Bryce was still alive, Chuck laughed anyway. "We're tracking him down, right?" he asked his wife.

Sarah nodded. "Of course we'll find him again. But it is pretty amusing to watch him run. Holy shit, he bolted like a bat out of hell." She wrapped her arms around her shoulder's husband and they made their way back to the hotel so they could get started on finding their resurrected friend.

Meanwhile, back in his apartment, Bryce closed his door and slid to the floor. He had prepared himself for every contingency but still, this had thrown him completely off his game. He was better than this and shouldn't have freaked out. He needed to calm down and ibe/i Neal again. Hopefully, Chuck and Sarah would mind their own business and leave shit alone (he wasn't that lucky). "Fuck," he whispered to himself. Bryce (iNeal/i, he reminded himself) desperately wanted to run now that his past finally caught up to him but he couldn't - he had a life and a family here. Peter and Elizabeth and Mozzie (and the team) meant everything to him and he didn't want to just abandon them. It wouldn't be right. He knew better than to get attached but it was way too late now. He'd just have to suffer the consequences and face whatever was coming.

* * *

The next day at work, Peter immediately picked up on the fact that Neal was distracted. He frowned and turned his attention to him. "Neal, is something wrong?" he asked him. It seemed like his friend was hiding something and it was worrying him.

Bryce's ( _Neal. Neal. Neal_ , he kept repeating to himself) head snapped up and he shook his head. "Peter, I'm fine. Nothing's going on with me." He was losing the plot here and couldn't afford to let that happen.

Peter knew something was off but let it go for Neal - he'd bring something over to drink and maybe get Neal to open up that way. It was the only thing he could think of because his friend was definitely hiding something that was clearly tearing him apart. "Okay then," he finally answered upon noticing the panicked look on Neal's face.

Bryce wondered how transparent he actually was at this given point in time. How would the Burkes and Mozzie react if they knew the truth? It'd put them in danger so he refused to spill willingly but there was a distinct possibility everything had finally come crashing down on him. "Great. Let's get back to this case." He then proceeded to bury himself in the usually boring as fuck mortgage fraud case, something that also worried Peter.

* * *

That night, Bryce pretended to be surprised when the door opened, and Chuck and Sarah stepped in. "Bryce," was all Chuck could say.

"So you found me again."

Sarah briefly hugged him then started yelling at Bryce. "How dare you make us think you were dead! What the hell were you thinking?"

Not proud of himself for stalling, Bryce proceeded to do so anyway. "Are those wedding rings?" he questioned, squinting at Sarah and Chuck's hands.

"Yes, we're married now. Answer the question, Bryce," ordered Chuck.

"Congratulations! I'm happy for you both." He truly was - they had been head over heels in love for each other last time he saw them.

"Bryce!" An impatient Sarah couldn't take the stalling anymore and just wanted to know why he faked his death and took up a new(ish - Neal Caffrey had been one of Bryce's original aliases, according to their research) identity.

He sighed and sat down. "I really did die for real this time but the CIA managed to resurrect me. Afterwards, it was determined that I should stay dead because for various reasons - including a multitude of enemies - and took up an old alias. And I've been living basically happily ever after until I ran into you two - although I'm thrilled to see you both. I missed you," Bryce admitted.

Unbeknownst to the three spies (who were all better than this but were caught up in their reunion), Peter and Elizabeth stood outside the apartment door, reeling from the conversation they just overhead. "Should we go in there?" Elizabeth whispered.

"Maybe we leave it alone? If he's really CIA, then it should stay a secret," Peter whispered back, trying to wrap his head around the huge secret his friend had been hiding.

They froze when they heard voices again. Sarah bit her lip. "Is someone outside?" she questioned.

Bryce panicked again, knowing exactly who had showed up. He inhaled and exhaled then marched his way to the door. "Hi," he sheepishly said to Peter and Elizabeth when they both jumped.

"Hi," Peter answered back.

"Surprise?" Elizabeth offered weakly, unsure of the next step.

Chuck made the first move and introduced himself once he realized Bryce, Peter, and Elizabeth weren't going to do anything. "Hi. Nice to meet you - I'm Charles Carmichael. And you are?" he asked, knowing full well their identities.

"Agent Peter Burke, and this is my wife, Elizabeth. I've heard of you," the surprised Peter told him.

Sarah then stood up. "And I'm Chuck's wife, Sarah Walker. It's a pleasure to meet Neal's friends. He's told us so much about you." She could at least try to save Bryce's ass.

Peter had finally had enough and gave up pretenses. "You're with the CIA, Neal?"

Bryce's shoulders slumped. "It's a long story. You sure you want to hear this?"

"Of course we do, Neal. Bryce, I heard? What do you want us to call us? Either way, we want to know the truth. This is a part of your life," Elizabeth prodded.

Sarah immediately liked the other woman. "You care about him - good."

Elizabeth didn't know what to say to that so she settled on, "Thank you."

"You're taking care of him? Making sure he doesn't push himself too hard?" Chuck asked Peter.

"Of course. He doesn't always listen, though, and I don't think he ever will." Peter suddenly understand a lot things about Neal (Bryce?) even though he didn't know the full story.

"Settle in. I think you're in for a long night." As much as he was absolutely terrified about what came next, Bryce knew he'd have the support of these four people no matter what. And so he started to explain _everything_ to the Burkes and Chuck and Sarah. And out of it, new friendships were born.


End file.
